Author: John Yarmuth

Classmates: Sorry to have been missing in action the past few months. Correspondence has been sparse, to say the least, except for the occasional obituary. Until the death of John O’Leary, I had followed tradition (as I perceive it) and avoided talking about the passing of classmates. Obviously, as time goes, this type of news could fill up the allocated space, not to speak of being a real downer. On the…

Unfortunately, the mailbag has been pretty empty for the past few months, and even more unfortunately, the balance of the news has been sad. At our 35th, we learned that about 60 of our classmates have passed away since graduation, but several more have been lost since, and this column will be largely devoted to two of them. As most of you know by now, one of our most prominent classmates, both nationally and in…

Greetings, classmates. As usual, the end of winter is accompanied by numerous, and lengthy, submissions from those who are forced inside by the weather. This edition’s letters come from Chicago, New York, Boston, and Dallas, which can get volatile conditions. But, as you will see, our Dallas writer apparently has been skiing in Sun Valley, which leaves plenty of time for thought. Let’s get to it. Richard…

My mission this month is to provide a respite from the past year’s intense political debate, fully manifest in the seemingly endless e-mail letters circulated through the class listserv. While the nation ponders which Yalie to elect in 2008, here is some truly momentous news regarding your classmates. Ralph Sando has notified us that he has suffered the ultimate humiliation: witnessing his wife score an…

First of all this month, I bring you greetings from Tokyo. Jim Schweitzer-san and I visited Bogaty-san in June, partially on the important class business of delivering his class clown — no, that’s not right — class service award. William was appreciative, and he has no doubt proudly stored it in his futon closet. We also were treated to a tour of his office, the very one in which…

There was a certain irony in the fact that our class’s 35th reunion gift exceeded $13 million (50 percent above the goal of $8.8 million) and we were still housed at Jonathan Edwards, one of the last residential colleges in Abu Ghraib condition. It’s a distinct probability that the anonymous donor of $4 million, as well as the three million-dollar givers, weren’t staying there. But those of us in more moderate gift…

Hello, classmates. I begin this submission with a last-minute plug for reunion. If you are still debating attendance, consider this: There will be no presidential candidates at our bash, only a few Skull and Bones members pushing Bush and Kerry. Who would have thought that our class would be distinguished by the fact that it had no presidential aspirants in 2004? If only Mark Dayton or Lamar Smith…

Hello, classmates. As you read this we are only about two months from reunion (unless you are way behind in your reading and it’s now June). Fortunately, a few of you communicated in advance, or I would have had to treat this submission like most of my term papers (i.e., puffing them up with gibberish). Mike Baum wrote with the following personal update and financial advice: “Seems reunion…

Anticipation of the reunion certainly has had an impact on the old mailbag. Your letters are streaming in, I guess because either you don’t want to answer a lot of questions next spring, or you’re not planning to be there. We all hope it’s the former and not the latter. In any event, here we go. Daniel Seiver wrote from Cincinnati: “My daughter graduated from Yale in May, my son graduated from high…

Hello, classmates. Sorry to have been AWOL for the last issue, but I doubt anyone wanted to hear about my summer vacation, and no one else wrote. Thanks to the following, however, there is news this month. First, this biography from Jeff Horton: “I’ve been meaning to communicate with you for a long time. I believe I sent an item to the class notes about a decade ago, so it’s time to get caught up….

Hello, classmates. Just think, if we were a year older we could have visited the White House this May. Maybe next year Mark Dayton and Lamar Smith will co-host a cookout in the Capitol. Anyway, as I mentioned last time, several of your colleagues (I am no longer claiming them) carried out a 25-year-old threat and came to the Kentucky Derby. While we could not surpass consumption records set back in the 1960s, we gave…

Happy spring, classmates! I have received more news than will fit in print, so let’s get right to it. Dr. Stephen Billick has received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. He writes: “It was a surprise to find that the years have passed and now I’m old enough to get awards like this!” One question, Steve: Should a psychiatrist be surprised about things…

Greetings, classmates. It’s time for the annual indulgence in which we list all of you who are going broke sending your offspring to dear old Eli, from which you obviously hope they will go on to run for president someday. Here, therefore, are the future Bushes, Kerrys, Deans, Liebermans, etc. John R. Adams, Elizabeth Ann ’04; Frank S. Ashburn,Emma Katherine ’04; Terence G. Benson, Kara E. ’06; James R. Broach, Matthew J….

Greetings classmates, and Happy New Year! I must humbly apologize (Trent Lott’s getting to me) for missing the deadline for last issue, but I attribute the failing to my annual appointment with classmates at the Yale Club for Yale-Harvard weekend. This year, a most impressive group assembled in Manhattan. It included Don Galligan, Steve Dixon, Jim Schweitzer, Tim Harris, Quentin Lawson, Jeffrey Rosen…